Mary#17

Here's a small snippet from Cycle World as a best used bike buy.

http://www.cycleworld.com/2012/03/22/ducati-st2-st4-st3-best-used-bikes/

Proper service by a trained tech is important on these bikes so make sure you get one with decent records. My friend has one but he always tried to do the service himself or have one of his friends do it and they royally messed it up.

OK. Joined. There are now 19 of us on WAZE. LOL.

Downloaded this and there is a OR group Ben made a year ago

I joined it

That's funny. I haven't gotten that far along with it so I'll have to look for the group.

Mary

Glad you enjoyed your trip. If I had realized you was doing and overnight, there are some great roads farther south through Meigs, Galia, and southern Jackson county you may try to consider next time around.

I've actually considered those areas before. I'll be in touch with you for the next trip hopefully in July. Thanks!

Mary

Friday and Saturday were awesome. I'm very jealous of all of you have easy access to these roads - makes coming back to the cornfield difficult!

Anyway, here are some quick reports.

Road in consideration:

1. 374 - Pavement right in between 56 and 664 was paved last year and is in great shape. At some point, I actually slowed down to look around and it is beautiful in some areas.
   
2. Chapel Ridge Road - Interesting road. Good shape. Passed by it a few times without ever knowing it was there. There is a part that goes downhill for a bit that is really interesting.
   
3. 664 - They seem to be building a new road or parking lot or something. Strange stuff. Went through a couple times and the single traffic signal is fairly quick even on Saturday.
   
4. 180 - Didn't ride as much of this as I had planned but it was in good shape.
   
5. Kreasbaum Road - freshly paved. Some gravel but just enough to keep you honest.
   
6. Big Pine Road - No snake. I really wanted to see it.
   
7. 691- This was freshly paved but a lot of the construction detours up north made it tough to get to. We only did about half of the road. Tried again to get to it from Nelsonville and got stuck in a wicked traffic jam on 33 from Athens and turned around and gave up.
   
8. 685 - This was closed at 78/13 area and it was really a mess and I didn't want to spend too much time trying to figure out how to get around all the closed roads.
   

We did 278 between 56 and 50 and that was a nice road. Clean, some nice turns and some scenic areas as well.

50 was a bit bumpy. It was just a connector for us but figured I'd mention it.

Took 356 from 50 to 56. Freshly paved down south. Nice road again.

56 between 664 and 374 is just fun. I love the long sweepers that keep going and there a few nice ones there.

Construction near 78/13/691 was a bit a pain so I modified some of my plans to steer clear. Don't know my way around well enough and there were other roads I wanted to get on.

33 south had some construction areas but moved fine for the most part. As I mentioned 33 north from Athens was a nightmare in construction and traffic. Don't know if it was just a fluke or what but it was bad.

Stayed at the OU Inn. Nice hotel. Very nice restaurant downstairs. Very good steaks. $120/night so not that bad. Safe area.

Met one of the street sweepers but we were in the middle of a road so I didn't catch his name but thank you!

Anyway, that's all. Thank you all for the feedback and suggestions.

Mary

TSorry guys for the traffic delay but it was not as bad as I expected it to be. I feel sorry for anyone riding through Nelsonville today. The traffic through there was similar to Atlanta during rush hour but with only one lane. If anyone took any pics, post them up please.

My husband and I stayed at the OU Inn Friday night and tried to get up to 691 Saturday morning and got caught in that. We finally gave up and found a spot to turn around and went back to 56 and skipped 691 altogether. That traffic was horrible! Sorry we didn't see you guys, I had figured our path might cross at some point but we did get to meet (briefly) one of the road sweepers. Take care!

Mary

I've been playing around with an app called Waze. It has the option to set up groups so I think it would easily accomplish what you are thinking (shows others around you when turned on).. I know over the weekend I saw a few people from the MINI owners group and stuff like that.

Mary

Thank you. That is some great info!!!!

Mary

664 from bremen to logan has some suspect patching done on it. its not horrible, but there are some shaky transitions.

big pine was fine when i was down there maybe a week ago. that road is less traveled so watch out for snakes sunning themselves on the street. i saw a HUGE black rat snake just chilling in the middle of the road soaking up some rays. i stopped like 2 feet from him and he didnt really seem very spooky at all. just looked at me like wtf are you in my sun for?

Really? That's different. I was expecting deer not snakes. That would be a sight!

Mary

Great! Thanks for the update. I'm pretty sure I just have 664 as a connector so we can do the 374 loop a couple times. I remember the traffic you are talking about from last year. Thanks again.

Mary

Hello all,

I'm planning a trip down to this area soon and wanted to get some feedback on roads I'm looking at. Any feedback on road quality or constructions zones would be appreciated. Also if I've missed any great roads, please let me know. Thank you!!

Road in consideration:

1. 374 - i know they paved some of this last year
   
2. Chapel Ridge Road
   
3. 664
   
4. 180
   
5. 678
   
6. Kreasbaum Road
   
7. Big Pine Road
   
8. 691- Paves I believe
   
9. 685 - I think I saw this was in process
   
10. 550 near Athens - I know they had started paving some of this last year.
    
11. 690
    
12. 669
    
13. 78 from McConnellsville west.
    

Thanks for any input!

Mary

If you violate this law and don't have a helmet with you, your bike will also most likely get towed.

Having said that, please wear a helmet.

Mary

I love Putnam that was and still is my favorite track and I've been to quite a few. Nice pics.

Mary

I bought these earlier this year as I don't like wearing my full boots all the time anymore but wanted some better protection on longer rides. I feel these boots are a nice balance. They offer much of same protection as the full on race boots in a shorty. Toe sliders. Great ankle protection and so on. They are really easy to get on and off. Love the zipper entry. They are really quite comfortable. I've done a 250 mile ride with them and my feet felt great. Easy to walk around in and a decent amount of ventilation although they do offer an "air" version but I wanted something that could be used for more than the summer. Very happy with the purchase.

Alpinestars S-MX 1 Boots Black

• Features:
  
• Upper constructed from lightweight microfiber.
  
• Breathable mesh inserts and perforated side panel for enhanced ventilation.
  
• External TPU protection on the outer ankle.
  
• Foam backed, double density ankle protector on the medial side.
  
• External TPU shift pad, slider and heel counter.
  
• Reinforced toebox layered under the microfiber upper.
  
• Plush 3D mesh inner liner.
  
• Combination zipper and Velcro strap closure system.
  
• Outsole constructed with the same advanced rubber compound as the S-MX 5 Boot.
  
• Integrated shank in the sole for extra rigidity.
  
• Anatomically profiled EVA foam footbed.
  

OK. I've used these a few times now and wanted to give a quick review.

First of all, they look just awesome. I love these things! Although I have a fetish for driving shoes so that might have something to do with it. I use these shoes for casual rides locally or when I'm riding to work. They are a little more laid back than the other boots I bought for more serious riding. They are extremely comfortable! Super light and just feel nice. They have decent ankle protection and seem to be a really nice quality. They are pretty flat on the bottom so I'm not completely sure how they will be in the wet so I am going to be extra careful in that situation but otherwise I'm pretty happy with these shoes. They don't offer a ton of ventilation so if you have very warm feet,these may not be great for you. They were a little stiff around the ankle initially but have already broken in nicely but I do like the ankle support.

• Features:
  
• Lightweight Microfiber upper.
  
• Breathable mesh liner.
  
• Plush 3D Mesh on the collar and tongue.
  
• TPR toe and ankle protectors.
  
• Foam backed, double density impact protector on the both sides of the ankle.
  
• Internal toe and heel counter are layered under the microfiber.
  
• Shift pad with debossed texture for added grip.
  
• Reflective stripes on heel.
  
• Extremely lightweight rubber sole with laser-ablated textured grip.
  
• PU midsole on the heel for added comfort.
  
• Integrated metal shank for enhanced sole rigidity. Anatomically profiled EVA foam footbed.
  
• Lace closure system with adjustable Velcro strap.
  

My husband and I both have a set of custome 1 pc leathers and they are a super high quality. My husband had off the shelf leathesr from various name brand company's and the vanson's easily held up better in all the crashes. They also have great customer service and will (at least they used too) do many repairs for free. They are thicker than most that I've seen so the break in period might be a little longer.

Mary

Tyre. Cool. I will try that out. Thanks for the tip!!

Mary

How's the pavement? Have done most if not all of those roads and they really are fun. Good stuff!

I've been using the Harley trip planner for setting up routes for longer trips but it will not upload to my current GPS. Anybody have any recommendations for a GPS that can be used for this or any other ideas for route planning in general. Thanks.

Mary

We just did 715 last weekend and it was fine for the most part but there was definitely some gravel so be aware. Fun road though.

Welcome. My husband had a 1989 and a 1990 FZR 600 that he really loved. I rode on the back of it for many years.

Mary

The pw50 is a great idea but it's nice to have something for them to tool around on in the development. These electric models also usually have 2 speeds and the low speed is a really nice feature for them to get used to in general.

We will be hunting for a pw50 soon. Then I get a dirtbike again and I guess I'll let my husband get one too. We have this for the kids too.

My parents couldn't afford one of these when I was a kid and I wanted one sooooooo bad. So, yes, I am living through my kids. Good times!

Not quite an R1 but way cool and blue.

only problem with the duc one is that it won't run unless it's above 80 degrees.

Running is overrated when you look so darn good standing still.

Picture of my daughter when she was around 3. She wasn't totally into to it. Hoping my son will like it more.